The Challenges Continue
by WritingwithGusto
Summary: Two years have passed since the defeat of Red Claw, and the downfall of the Claw Gang. Jordan and his friends find themselves in another situation of having to discover who they are, and this time, they have to win. Their trials did not end with Red Claw, but this time, they're ready for it. (TEMPORARY HIATUS)
1. Chapter 1

**It is finally time...**

 **For the fanfic I've been thinking of doing since the previous one ended...**

 **THE SEQUEL TO THE NEW CHALLENGES!**

 ***Silence***

 **Fine then! If I'm the only one excited! Then I'll just have to be excited enough for all of us!**

 **Anyway, I've actually been thinking about doing this for so long (literally since the day after I finished 'The New Challenges' originally), but I've had so many other projects I've wanted to do. Along with that, as I've been telling you all forever now, real life has been kicking my ass.**

 **But I've finally got to it! It's finally time!**

 **Also, shout out to A-LionGleek, for offering me ideas on what to do in this story, and in the process reminding me of my roots on this site.**

 **And to end this opening thing, I want to disclaim. As said many times, I don't own Land Before Time (I kinda wish I did, though) or any real word brands referenced. And with that out of the way...**

 **Welcome to 'The Challenges Continue'!**

* * *

The familiar sound of an alarm clock filled the room, loud enough to be heard halfway through the house. But the alarm barely got through one ring, before it was silenced, and turned off. The boy in question awoke, wasting no time, as he got out of bed, and began doing a few morning stretches.

It was the start of a new school year, and Jordan Barnes was going to be prepared.

As soon as the stretches were done, he awoke, and immediately went to the bathroom to take a shower. But first, he had to splash some cold water in his face. Going to the sink, first and foremost, he turned the faucet on cold, and splashed a bit of the cold water in his face. And like a jolt of energy, he was suddenly awake again. And the first sight was his hands, and then himself in the mirror.

Despite his hands still being kind of small and ladylike, they were rough, and calloused to no end, and showed just how hard of a worker he was. And it was a similar situation with his reflection.

Jordan had grown a considerable amount in the past two years. He now stood at a decent 6'0 in height, so now, at the very least, he wasn't 'little' anymore. Along with that, he had been able to pack on a decent amount of muscle, despite still being a bit of a wiry boy. His hair was slightly longer, but was still as wild and messy as it had been since he began high school, and his eyes were still bright reddish-brown, and held a beautiful shine to them.

All in all, he had come a long way.

After a quick shower, Jordan did his usual routine: get dressed, eat an early breakfast, do some morning training drills (mostly practicing his kick-up, and a little shadow boxing), and turn on his phone. Once the latter was done, he noticed his inbox was filled with texts, all of which came from his friends. He was about to have a long morning.

The first came from 'TheGreatPetrie', AKA Eugene Jeovanni, one of his oldest friends, as well as one of his closest. 'I can't believe I've actually been doing good at chess,' was his, and this made Jordan laugh, given that it was referencing the 'Chess Fiasco' a month back.

Up next came from 'DevotedDucky', AKA Lucy Brooks, Eugene's Girlfriend, and a good buddy of Jordan's for years. 'I don't get why everyone doesn't take a hot bath before bed. It's so relaxing.' Jordan decided to make a mental note to try that, especially after a meet.

Along with Lucy's came one from 'SilentSpike', or Jurgen 'Spike' Jaeger, Lucy's adoptive brother. And while Jordan couldn't read it (due to it being in German), but he was sure it was some inspirational quote pulled from some movie. He always did that, and it was usually very inspiring once translated.

Then came 'FangBreaker' (Cyrus 'Chomper' Fang), who told him 'Check out Fairy Tail. You'll love it.' And once again, Jordan made a mental note. When it comes to anime, if Chomper recommended it, it had to be good. He knows his stuff.

And of course, this whole time, Jordan's been saving the best for last. The last text he got last night was from his girlfriend, Sara Williams. Checking it out, he noticed that she had decided to go the route that made it easier on him. Usually, if she wanted to say something while they were at home, she would either send him one big text and leave it at that, or blow up his phone with a bunch of small texts. Right now, it looks like she did the former of the two.

'Heya' the text started out, 'I don't know if you're even up, but I can't sleep, and I was wondering if you could find a way to help me get to sleep. But, if you're not awake, then it's whatever. I'll just see if I can get some of that thing called sleep. G'night, Littlefoot.'

Immediately did Jordan begin to feel bad for her. Sure, he wasn't the most attentive boyfriend in the universe, and like every guy, did enjoy a little alone time, but he did want to make sure she never had problems. It was almost a reflex to try to solve Sara's problems at an instant, and it made him feel like a bad boyfriend to have left her in the dark… even if by accident. So, he texted back.

'Sorry I couldn't help,' Jordan wrote, 'I blacked out as soon as my head hit the pillow. Kickboxing practice and stuff.' Short and simple, but it got a response out of her.

'Eh, it's whatever, Littlefoot. I at least got to bed by midnight. But it sucks, because I'm gonna look all tired today.'

That made Jordan smile, as he knew that Sara was known for this kind of thing. She was ironically mellow nowadays, but he knew she was still going to be a hothead throughout their relationship. If his memories of his past life were anything to go by (and they usually were), she would be this way for a long time.

'Well, if you say so. I'll come pick you up in a little bit.'

'K'

With that decided, Jordan headed out of his room, and got dressed real quick. He chose to wear a simple outfit, consisting of a black t-shirt, sweatpants, and his usual black converse. It wasn't much, but he was going to train with Cera after school today, so he might as well be dressed for it. All it was missing was his 'symbol'.

Off of his dresser, Jordan grabbed a necklace. It was simple in design, and comfortable to wear, and just made him feel good when he wore it. But it wasn't the necklace itself that made him feel good. It was the pendant at the end of it.

A pendant that was shaped, and looked just like a Tree Star. Ever since he took down Red Claw, and got a vision from his previous self, this has been his 'Symbol'.

With everything else now out of his way, Jordan grabbed his backpack, and headed into the living room, where he saw both of his grandparents sitting. "Good morning," they both said, as Jordan waved them a simple 'hi', before asking "Grandpa, I'm heading out. Is that ok?"

"Of course it is," Grandpa said, "Just remember to drive safely."

"I will."

Not another word was shared between the two, as Jordan bolted out the door, and made his way to his car. Due to getting his driver's license recently, Jordan's father had gotten him a Camaro to celebrate. Jordan himself wasn't sure if it was a way of making up for not being around often, or if he was that proud of Jordan, but he was happy about it nonetheless.

Especially with how awesome it was to drive.

Getting inside of it, Jordan started the car up, and was out of the driveway in only a few seconds. Along the way, he threw his backpack into the backseat, set his mix tape into his stereo (knowing Sara would want to hear some rock and roll), and drove out to get to his girlfriend's house.

It took him only ten minutes to get down there, and the first sight he saw was Sara Williams, his girlfriend, and the love of his life.

Just like Jordan, Sara had grown a considerable amount, standing about 5'10, with her blonde hair remaining short, only down to her shoulders. She was dressed largely the same as Jordan, wearing her training clothes (a tank top, sweatpants, and sneakers), along with her own Tree Star pendant. And of all these things, Jordan's focus came right to her eyes, which were a beautiful bright green, and made Jordan feel great.

"Morning, Littlefoot," Sara said as she entered the car, playfully using the boy's nickname. "Miss me?" Jordan smiled, responding immediately with "Always. Weekends are so boring without you around."

"I know. Family reunions take forever. I'd rather just be here in your arms."

Jordan smiled. He knew that Sara called herself a 'greedy girl', and she would often try to make as much time for them to be together as she could (which is why they always sparred together all the time). To Jordan, it was kind of charming, and he was always happy to indulge her. But it was moments like this that let him see Cera's cute side, and he loved them.

"Well, we can always make up for it right now," He said. Sara giggled at this, and said "If we did, we'd be stuck in this car all day. We'll just have to spar a lot more. After all, I know you like to see me all sweaty."

Jordan couldn't deny that last part.

"Sounds like a plan."

And with that, the couple drove off, getting ready to go out to the school. And they both knew that it was going to be a good day.

* * *

 **So this is the day that I've been waiting for! The day that I can get a start on the fic series that I've wanted to get back to work on for some time now, is finally here! Of course, this is just a prologue, but everything starts somewhere, and it will get better as time goes on.**

 **And my system is still working, as I am going to be able to get all of my LBT stuff updated by Sunday, so that's also something to smile about for me. So now, I'm having a good time, and I've said everything I've wanted to say. It's good!**

 **Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. It's Gusto again, and I'm still alive and kicking.**

 **Now, if any of you are wondering about why there were so few updates in the past month, it's due to the fact that my schedule has been stuffed to the brim for the past month. Legitimately, when I wasn't busy training, studying, or being sick, I was busy partying (my birthday was a bit back) and having fun. And because of these events, I just didn't get the spur to write a lot last month, because I was burned out from all the energy I used up training/partying. So, I ended up out of routine, and couldn't get back in routine in time.**

 **But it's a new cycle, and that means I'm back to write. And since I am NOT the type to just leave people hanging, I have intent to do double this week. After all, LBT is my roots on this site, and I don't want to leave my viewers hanging without making the wait worth it. So, expect at least two chapters of each fic this week.**

 **On that same note, the reason that this chapter wasn't up Monday was because my computer was being stupid. But it's working now, and I will most certainly be writing up a storm. So remember, I have intent to write up a storm, and get up six chapters this week, altogether.**

 **No full promises on that though…**

 **And with that out of the way, I also figure I should say, I am probably going to do an 'Answering Reviews' segment, and I think I'll start here and now.**

 **Guest: Glad you enjoyed. And glad to know you like my portrayal of Cera, since she was always my favorite character.**

 **AllegroGiocoso: Thanks. It's always good to get support, and yours is always appreciated.**

 **A-LionGleek: Thank you. I am going to try to make this story as good as I can, and I will continue onward in hopes of making this story great.**

 **Santoand: That is my hope. I really do want to make this story as good as (or possibly even better than) the original story. And here is the next chapter. Also, I sometimes do end up doing requests, but you really didn't need to request, since I've intent to add in Pterano at some point. I just gotta figure out how to make his reincarnation work.**

 **And with that out of the way, I continue onwards with the story that I have been excited for since its predecessor ended.**

 **On with it, I go!**

* * *

Within three minutes, the kickboxing couple had made it to the school, but something didn't feel right. The group made a tradition of meeting out in the parking lot before classes, but today, none of them were there. It made both Jordan and Sara uneasy.

"Where do you think they went," Sara asked, "It ain't like them to be no-shows." Jordan just shrugged, and said "Can't say. Maybe they overslept." Sara scoffed at this and said "Please. I'd believe Eugene sleeping in, and maybe Spike. But Ruby, Lucy, and Chomper? Not a chance."

Jordan couldn't argue with her on that one.

"Well, what? Do we wait for 'em here?"

Sara shrugged herself, and said "I don't know. I guess we kinda have to." And once again, he couldn't argue with her, at least until they heard someone behind them say "Not really. The only one who slept in was me." And realizing that this was the voice of a certain carnivore, they turned around, and saw their buddy, Cyrus Fang. Or as they better knew him: Chomper.

Now, it was arguable that Chomper had the most drastic changes of the group, having grown about a full foot in a year, and is still growing, now standing about 6'1. His facial features had changed a bit, his jawline becoming a bit more defined, and his muscles getting a bit more definition as well. He had also stopped wearing his hair (which had visibly darkened from its original pale blue color to a darker pale blue) wolf style, in favor of wearing it down, and letting it grow down to about his shoulders. In fact, if you saw Chomper from two years ago, and compared it to him now, then you'd think they were two different people.

Then, you'd see those deep blood-colored eyes, and realize it was definitely him.

"In fact, if I remember correctly," Chomper said, a grin on his face, slightly showing his fangs, "I recall Eugene saying there was a practice match happening today. Since we all have Gym class first, Coach Lone said we could practice in the Boxing Ring. We just have to check in with him."

Jordan smiled, remembering immediately that Coach Lone was a very lax guy, despite his record as a powerful person. So, that cleared it up for him without question, and they headed to the boxing ring.

Once inside, the first sight they saw was two figures in the ring. One of those two was a male of average height (about 5'8), with black hair and brown eyes, avoiding the punches of a taller chubby boy, with green streaked auburn hair. This was a practice match between Eugene and Spike, and along with that, he saw a girl, standing 5'6 with green streaked blonde hair, and blue eyes, and a girl with blood red hair, and similarly blue eyes, both watching the match with fascination.

The gang was all here already.

"Wow," Jordan joked, "Didn't even wait for us to get here. I see how it is." This caught Eugene's attention, and he received a haymaker to the face, and went down. "Dammit man," Eugene said, giving a pained laugh, "I was winning there." Everyone in the room could only smile at this.

Right as the bell rang.

The group of course knew just what that meant, and had to leave the ring and head right into the gym. When they got there, they saw Coach Lone, who wasted no time telling them they had access to the boxing ring for the rest of the period. So, that meant all they had to do was wait for roll call to be over, and then get back to work.

So, they sat on the bleachers, and not two minutes after being on the bleachers, Jordan received a text. It was from 'SpiritGuide', or as he was better known, Cassie Walsh. He had graduated during the same year as the 'Rebirthing' (as the group called the day of Red Claw's downfall), and now served as just what his Username implied. He would often send a text to the group, to give them little words of wisdom, and occasionally give them premonitions of what he was sure to happen.

As such, Jordan checked his E-mail real quick, and saw what freaky psychic message he had for him today.

'Do not expect everything, but be prepared for anything.'

He was initially confused, until halfway through gym, he got a text from the last person he was expecting one from: His dad.

' _Well… he did say be prepared for ANYTHING…'_

* * *

 **I send this chapter out, and have climbed the first hill of this week. My computer problems have been alleviated, and summer is approaching rapidly, so I will likely be able to write a thousand times more, since my days will be filled with nothing but training and writing and video games and (of course) Land Before Time.**

 **Seriously, once summer comes around, I am going to binge re-watch all of the movies. And then, knowing me, I am probably going to update these stories like a son of a bitch. But for now, I'm going to continue working, and see if I can get the next couple of chapters done.**

 **Next time in this story, stuff happens, and we find out what Bron said.**

 **Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, I just want to say I'm sorry for how long this chapter took.**

 **I mostly just ran out of inspiration for these stories, and I just had other projects I wanted to work on. However, recently, I re-read through a few of my older stories, as well as re-watching a few of the movies, and I discovered my inspiration again.**

 **I don't know if anyone out there still gives a damn about this story, but if anyone does, here you go.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Sara never liked it when Jordan didn't tell her things.

All day today, Jordan has seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood (with the exception of lunch, which they just used to spend time together), and he wouldn't tell her why. And it was starting to get her upset.

Ever since they started dating, they've told each other everything, and not knowing what was making her boyfriend upset was not good. She needed to know what it was, or whose ass she needed to kick.

Currently, they were in Mr. Thicknose's room (American History for them this year), and they had work to do on… something or other. She hadn't really been paying attention this class, worried that something horrible had happened.

She needed to figure it out.

The bell rung as she was thinking about it, signaling the end of the day. Before she could say anything, Jordan was packing up. Seeing her chance, she grabbed him by the shoulder, and turned him around. "Okay," she said calmly, "What the hell's got you so bothered?"

"Can we talk about this in the parking lot," he asked, to which she nodded.

And so, they started to head out, Sara noticing the look of annoyance on Jordan's face. He didn't at all look happy, but she couldn't tell what it was at. That made her worried. Usually, she could read him like a book (even if it was usually a particularly thick book), which only helped her to worry more.

Once outside, she and Jordan came over to his car, where he took a deep breath, before pulling out his phone. "So, what's had me on edge all day," he said, "Is this. I got a text from my dad."

Sara fell silent, whatever words she planned to say having lost any meaning. She knew Jordan's dad was off running some big fancy company, so he didn't have a lot of time to talk with him. And knowing this, she understood what had him in a bad mood. _'Thank goodness,'_ She thought to herself, _'I thought I screwed up somehow.'_

Sara asked if she could see the text he was sent, and Jordan agreed. And looking at it, she kind of understood the shock.

'Hello Littlefoot,' it started out, simple as any other text, 'I figure I should tell you, I'm going to be visiting next week. Shorty's been going through a mean streak, and I thought maybe a little time around you will be good for him. See you then.'

Now it made a bit more sense than before. She remembered him.

Derek 'Shorty' Ackerman was the adopted son of Atticus Barnes, and was Jordan's adopted brother by connection. She had only met the guy once before, but he always seemed to be a bit rude, loud, and annoying (hell, during that time, she joked that she'd hate to see him when he's on his period, which got a laugh out of most of the teens in the room).

So, hearing that he was going through a 'mean streak' meant it was not going to be fun for Jordan.

"Yeesh," Sara said, "I guess that's going to suck."

"Don't be surprised if I come over to your place a lot for the next few weeks" Jordan told her, "I don't think Shorty's going to mellow out for a long while."

Sara smiled, "Well, you're always welcome at my place, Littlefoot. There's no way I'm letting Shorty keep you upset." And seeing that Jordan now had a smile on his face, she knew she did her job.

After Jordan gave her a quick kiss, they got in his car, and he headed out. There was a brief silence between them, before Jordan asked "Do you mind if we hang out today?"

Naturally, Sara told him it is fine, and without another word, they headed over.

* * *

When they made it over to Sara's house, the first thing they did was spar.

With them now being the star fighters on the Kickboxing Team, the two needed to train as often as they could. As such, Sara's dad set up a room with a kickboxing ring for them, allowing them to train right at home.

The two were dressed and ready for their spar, gloves on, and wills steeled.

Even though Jordan claimed to be fine thanks to being around her, she could tell his mind was elsewhere. She had decided to start on the offensive, throwing quick jabs to test the waters. Jordan blocks, but doesn't counter until the third jab (when he normally would counter at the first).

He does a low kick, catching the side of her leg, but not doing decent damage. Normally, his leg kicks were near crippling to everyone except her, but this time, he wasn't even trying.

The rest of the spar was the same. She continued to land shot after shot, whereas Jordan barely even countered, only getting in a few shots (which were not very impressive, sadly to say). By the end of it, she was really worried. If it was so upsetting that it was throwing him off his game, it had to be bad.

After the match, Jordan waited on the couch, as she brought him a bottle of water. As she got close, she noticed that he was staring at the ceiling, his hands clenched into fists.

"You seemed a little messed up back there," she said, "This 'Shorty' thing messing you up that much?"

"I just can't help it," Jordan admitted, "Whenever he comes over, he always has something to complain about. He and I have never gotten along."

"Then why do you put up with him?"

To this, Littlefoot sighs, and said, "Grandma and Grandpa always told me 'You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family'. Even if I don't like him sometimes, he's still my brother, so I gotta put up with him sometimes."

"Boy, that's frustrating."

"Eh, I've dealt with worse."

Naturally, Sara knew this was true. She knew full well that he has deal with worse; after all, she was there when they had to face Red Claw. It was a pretty tough fight, all things considered. And Sara knew deep down that if he could handle that, he could handle Shorty's little 'mean streak'.

Even so, that doesn't mean she isn't worried about him.

"Well, hey," she tried reasoning, "At least it isn't all bad. I mean, you have all of us to talk to, and if worst comes to worst, you can always just challenge him to a fight, and knock some sense into him."

This got a smile out of Jordan, as well as a light laugh. "I suppose that's true," he said, "But it's fine. I don't mind putting up with him when I have to."

Sara only smiled, and told him, "Well, just don't forget we're all here to offer a helping hand when we can." Jordan's response was almost immediate, wrapping her up in a happy hug. "Thanks, Sara," he told her, "I'll remember that one."

All Sara could do was smile at that. "Now, since we're past that, and we got a few more minutes, what do you want to do?"

"Hm… Smash?"

Sara giggled. "Sounds like fun."

* * *

After a rousing few rounds of Smash Bros (mostly Little Mac vs Ike, their personal favorite characters), Jordan headed out, planning on just heading home and enjoying the rest of his day. He had no homework for the day, so that meant he could just relax until night time.

When he got home, his grandma had just finished dinner, and he ate like a savage… at least until his grandpa brought up something that nearly make him choke on his food:

"Littlefoot, we just found out that your father is going to visit."

Catching his breath afterwords, Jordan looked over to his grandpa, and told him "I am aware of that. He sent me a text earlier today. He also said he was bringing Shorty with him."

"I see. He did not mention that, but I had my suspicions. When we previously talked, he said that Shorty was going through a mean streak."

Jordan sighed, not wanting to talk about this again today. Politely excusing himself, he heads up to his room, and as soon as the door is closed, he lies down on his bed, and lets out an audible sigh. He was past the point of just brooding about Shorty coming over, but the idea of having to deal with his bull for the next few weeks would be annoying. He was at least hoping that his other friends could help with this…

*BEEP BEEP*

Recognizing his noise, Jordan got off of his bed with an annoyed groan, and checked his phone to see if there was anything there. When he turned it on, he saw that there was a text in his inbox, he saw it was from 'Jinx101'.

' _Alli? What's she got to say?'_

Looking at his phone, he saw what she had to say:

'Hey Littlefoot, I'm texting you to warn you that my mom plans on having us visit for a while. Rhet might join in, but I'm not too sure.'

Jordan was able to smile thanks to that. It had been about two years since Alli visited for a long while, and this time around, he was certain that there would be no Claw Gang this time around. That might end up helping his mood to have her around. She has had that kind of cheery effect to her.

'When?'

He patiently waited a minute or two, until he heard the alert sound, and saw her response.

'She was planning next week to let us visit. Not for a few months like last time, but maybe a month at max.'

That's plenty of time for him.

'That's great,' He said, 'I wouldn't mind any. It would be good to see you again.'

'Thanks. I miss hanging out with you too.'

'I'll see you soon?'

'Let's hope.'

With that, Jordan placed down his phone, and let out a hefty sigh. This may have been just the message he was hoping for, and it had him in a real good mood again. He wasn't too keen on dealing with Shorty and his supposed 'mean streak', but at the very least, he might have some additional company to talk to. And hey, if Rhet can come along, that means he has another sparring partner.

' _I can work with this,'_ He told himself in his mind.

Or at least, he hoped he could.


End file.
